Ilion Animation Studios, Midnight Radio, Nickelodeon Movies,

Sofia Mali, Jennifer Garner, Ken Hudson Campbell, Kenan Thompson, Mila Kunis, John Oliver, Ken Jeong, Norbert Leo Butz, Matthew Broderick, Brianna Denski, Oev Michael Urbas, Kate McGregor-Stewart, Kevin Chamberlin, Kath Soucie, Noen Perez

June (Sofie Mali, Briana Denski) is a young girl with a vivid imagination. With her Mom (Jennifer Garner) she uses her toys to design and build an imaginary amusement park called Wonderland. But things change as Mom becomes sick and Wonderland gets put away. On a trip to summer camp, June runs away to go back home, but on the way she finds that Wonderland is real, and that since she left it behind, it has fallen into decay and is in bad shape, but with the help of her toy friends, she may be the one who can put it back together again and save the park.

I have been looking forward to this film since I first saw the preview, and thought that I had to see this one. I was disappointed though and I feel quite a bit let down. The colors and the design of this animated film are really good, and the music and soundtrack are well done, but the story lacks any oomph to make it interesting, and I found it just didn’t move me. This is more like a Saturday morning cartoon than a feature movie, and it should have had a lot more work done on the actual story itself which is where the movie fell short. I definitely think it is worth seeing, but as to paying the cash to see this in the theater, maybe there are better things to see than this one. This is a definite rental somewhere down the road, but I sure wish there had been a better story to tell than it provided, so I can’t really recommend running out to see this. Nickelodeon has disappointed me in the past, and I think perhaps they don’t have the depth to make a really good feature film. They just often don’t compare to the big guys. It’s a shame as this looked like a really great opportunity. I am sad.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Amazon Studios, K Period Media, Pearl Street Films,

Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, Kyle Chandler, Lucas Hedges, Gretchen Mol, Matthew Broderick, Tate Donovan, Josh Hamilton, Anna Baryshnikov, C.J. Wilson, Heather Burns

Lee Chandler (Casey Afleck) is a lonely guy. He has a long history and has left home in Manchester along the coast to get away to the city where he works as a handyman for a string of apartments. But when he gets a call that his brother has just died from a heart attack, Lee heads home to Manchester to see what must be done. To his shock, his brother has named him as guardian for his teen aged son Patrick (Lucas Hedges) which he is ill equipped to handle. Determined to do the best he can for everyone, Lee is sorely burdened by certain events in his past that have affected his life.

This film is highly honored by the Hollywood Elite, and up for many awards, which is usually a sign of a problem. Then I start seeing FIVE STAR Reviews all over Netflix, and as I read them, they are rather stuffy as well. Then I notice that this is a Sundance film, and that explains why I was so disappointed in this film. There is a class of people who feel they are the true art lovers and who appreciate the nuances and such of a film like this. But I had a really hard time sitting through it. I wanted to be moved, but I couldn’t. Both the young Patrick and the grown version were highly unlikeable. Casey is in one of the worst roles I have seen, and this guy needs some Prozac right away. Flashbacks were all over the place, and very hard to catch on to what was going on. There are several characters in this film, including Michelle William’s character who I have no idea why they are important to the story. Perhaps I am too dumb to get it, but I just felt that this dragged on and on and on, and I was anxiously watching for the final credits when I could finally put this one back in it’s folder and mail it back. I really felt this was not worth the time that I invested in watching it. Watch it if you’re curious about all the awards, but be prepared to be bored to tears.

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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Universal Pictures, Imagine Entertainment, Relativity Media

Ben Stiller, Eddie Murphy, Matthew Broderick, Casey Affleck, Michael PeƱa, Tea Leoni, Gabourey Sidibe, Alan Alda, Judd Hirsch, Nina Arianda

Josh Kovacs (Ben Stiller) is the manager of a posh Central Park building called “The Tower”. It is ritzy and he keeps everything running smoothly from the dog walkers to the doormen, to the cleaning ladies, to the elevator operators and everyone in between. He has a special client living in the penthouse on the top floor, a stock market mogul named Arthur Shaw (Alan Alda). Shaw is a market wizard, so Josh decides to invest the workers entire pension fund with him with the promise to triple it in a year. Needless to say, the workers aren’t too happy when the FBI shows up with a warrant for Mr. Shaw as he is major swindler and took all the money. The money that he owes the banks is enormous compared to the pittance that belongs to the Tower employees, but Josh decides that the expertise that they have makes it possible for them to break into Mr. Shaw’s apartment while he’s out to court and get their money back. He calls together a few friends, including petty thief Slide (Eddie Murphy).

Tower Heist is a pretty funny film. It’s not going to be hugely popular because it’s just not going to appeal to everyone, but the story is rather clever. Not as cerebral as Ocean’s Eleven, but it’s the same type of story in a way. But we get a really good look into the service people who provide the very rich with every indulgence possible. It’s also a chance to root for the underdogs against the evil doers. It’s got a lot of decent comedy and a lot of action, chases, and double crosses. All in all the cast seemed to have a great time with this film.

All that being said, it’s not perfect. It’s not near as funny as Meet the Parents, or nearly as clever as Night in the Museum, but for a simple little comedy, it fills the bill. It’s not Ben Stiller’s best work, but it’s nice to see Eddie Murphy being Eddie Murphy again. He’s still got it.

Maybe it’s worthwhile to hold off on this one until it hits DVD, but as I said upfront, I enjoyed it. It was a great escape for a while, and a lot of fun. I can identify with these guys!

EdG – EdsReview Dot Com – A Movie Review Blog

 

 

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